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The practice of stuffing fowl and other animals with various food items, such as grains, vegetables, and herbs, dates back to at least Roman times, and has been known by a wide variety of names. The savory concoction can feature bread, cornbread, giblets, oysters, chestnuts, even dried fruit.
My family didn’t have an oven big enough for a turkey most of the time I was growing up, so my favorite side dish was baked in a casserole dish separately, and we called it dressing rather than stuffing. Later I heard that stuffing cooked inside the bird could be unsafe, so maybe Mom was ahead of her time.
The dressing I grew up with was pretty basic, and I think the recipe probably came out of the Capper’s Weekly newspaper, a constant presence in our home. It was called Anyday Dressing, because it didn’t rely on a turkey, giblets, or drippings. Years later, my brother added a sausage dressing to our holiday table, based on a Paul Prudhomme recipe. I still think both are scrumptious and would be hard-pressed to have to choose between them. And I do still slip up and say stuffing occasionally, when both are actually dressing.
Note: both recipes call for an 8x12” baking dish, but I prefer to use a round dish (10-10.5”) so there are no corners to get too brown.
Anyday dressing after baking
Veggies, seasonings, soup and broth simmering
Anyday Dressing
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup celery, thinly sliced*
- ¼ cup bacon fat (or butter or olive oil)
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon fines herbs (optional)
- 1 can condensed chicken and rice soup
- ½ soup can chicken broth or water
- 10-15 slices day-old bread, torn in small pieces (about 8 cups)
Ready for the oven after adding bread cubes
Preheat oven to 350F; well grease an 8x12” baking dish. Saute onion and celery in bacon fat until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add seasonings, soup and broth or water; bring to a simmer.
Stir in bread and lightly spoon into baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for around an hour; remove the foil in the last 10-15 minutes to crisp the top.
clockwise from top left: broth; chopped onions, celery and pepper; hot sauce; andouille (center); garlic; seasonings; bread crumbs
Andouille going through the meat grinder; you could probably use a food processor or stand mixer attachment
Andouille Sausage Dressing
- 3 cups chopped onion
- 1-½ cups chopped celery*
- 1-½ cups chopped green pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 14 ounces andouille sausage (ground in meat grinder using medium blade)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 to 1-½ tablespoons hot sauce
- 1-¼ cup chicken broth
- 1-¼ cup fine dry bread crumbs
Andouille and vegetables simmering with broth
Preheat oven to 425F; lightly grease an 8x12 baking dish. Saute half of the veggies in butter or oil for 6 to 8 minutes; add sausage and cook until meat is browned. Add remaining veggies and seasonings; cook about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer; cook about 10 minutes.
Stir in crumbs and transfer to baking dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. (This gets too brown very easily.)
While this is by no means free of carbohydrates, it has a much higher proportion of meat and vegetables to bread crumbs, so leaves one feeling mildly virtuous. 8)
*Helpful hint: if you’re like me and don’t go through celery very quickly, you can wrap the remainder of the bunch in aluminum foil and it will keep for quite a while.
What are your family traditions of dressing or stuffing? And what’s for dinner in your neck of the woods?
